UW slips out of top 10 in new public university ranking

University focused on improvements, spokesperson says rankings not the only tool to measure success

University of Wisconsin’s ranking dipped in a new ranking of national public universities.

According to the most recent Buffalo Business First ranking, UW lost its position as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation, falling to No. 12 behind University of Florida and University of Maryland.

Käri Knutson, UW spokesperson, said the rankings are not the only way to measure the university’s success, but serve as a tool to help potential students interested in the university.

“While we are attentive to these rankings and review them as they come out, they are but one measure of the university’s success,” Knutson said. “Other important measures range from students’ firsthand accounts of their experiences to alumni and donor support to the impact of the groundbreaking research that is done here daily.”

Knutson said UW is working to make improvements and sometimes those can impact rankings in a positive way, but the university’s emphasis is on the improvements themselves, not the rankings.

UW will continue to monitor these rankings as more are released, she said.

The top 250 public universities and colleges were ranked according to their academic achievements, including retention rates, graduation rates and prestige, Business First said in a statement.